1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and a device for controlling ectoparasites on animals. More particularly, animals are attracted to walk through a passageway and are automatically sprayed by an electronically controlled spraying device.
2. Previous Art
The livestock industry as well as horse owners suffer tremendous loss as a result of ectoparasite infestation (such as flies, lice, grubs, ticks). In the United State, loss in the cattle industry as regards for weight gain caused by horn lies and milk production caused by stable flies, a haematophagous parasite is estimated to $1 billion/year. During the year 2000, twenty-nine horses were killed by the West-Nile virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. All cases occurred in the Northeast.
The season of activity of ectoparasites lasts from 3 to 12 months. Therefore, it is costly, time-demanding and labor intensive to treat cattle or horses during the horn fly season. There is no effective means of controlling ectoparasites effecting pastured animals. A procedure has been implemented to control ectoparasites effectively by applicant.
Insecticide impregnated ear tags intended, as their name implies, to be attached to the animal""s ear and to release an active substance over a longer or shorter period have also been proposed. These tags consist of a matrix, usually a plastic matrix, which incorporates the active substance and is able to release it over time. The aim of these ear tags is thus, theoretically, to ensure long-lasting protections.
However, despite the claims, ear tags do not display the efficacy required to ensure that the ectoparasites are controlled. The reason for this may be the low activity of the active substance included in the matrix. Another reason may be the accelerated degradation of these active substances under the effect of climatic factors, such as light, heat and rain. Lastly, the control of the release of the active substance from the matrix is widely over-evaluated. The release generally proves to be difficult and variable, and it may depend highly on the manufacturing conditions, which may vary from one batch to another, and on the conditions of use, in particular climatic variations, and especially humidity and temperature, etc. In addition, only a relatively small amount of the active substance incorporated is actually released and it proves to be difficult to be able to control and optimize its release. The intensive use of ear tags induced the development of resistance to insecticides by horn flies and other ectoparasites and the maximum protection is about eight weeks of effective control. Additionally, ear tags are effective against only some ectoparasites such as horn fly but not against stable fly. It is costly and labor intensive to place two ear tags per cattle and they need to be replaced every eight weeks.
Control of ectoparasites has proven to be difficult. One form of control is to treat animals in mass manual spray devices. This process is laborious, time consuming and expensive, particularly when dealing with large herds. The animals are herded to an area while either entering or exiting particular areas, such as milking parlors, shearing stalls, feeding stalls, etc. Most sprayer types are permanently fixed. This prevents a farmer from locating the sprayer at different locations on the facility which may be more advantageous for the farmer.
Another form may consist of a dipping vat. The treatment solution must be changed at specified intervals to maintain efficacy of the treatment solution after several animals pass through the vat. Also, different types of flies require different types of treatment and prevention products and therefore different degrees of management. If the vat is not changed and re-charged accordingly, the efficacy of the treatment solution is greatly reduced. If the vats are not properly managed, the animals receive little or no benefit from the treatment solution.
In summary, Applicant has found that improper management, all greatly reduce the efficacy and cost effectiveness of prior art. Therefore, there is a great need for a method and device to provide more effective application of treatment solutions that are easy to use, even for producers having large herds.
Devices with various mechanisms that trigger automatic spraying of animals such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,880 and 3,884,192 are designed for animal treatment. Each of these patents are designed to spray the entire body of an animal with a small amount of insecticides, such as insecticides or disinfectants for controlling cattle grubs, face flies, stable flies, and lice. The devices are not efficient for use with disease prevention and treatment solutions because they are not portable and require hard wiring to run. Additionally, too much insecticide is harmful to the environment.
Additionally, these devices are unsuitable for treating dairy cattle because they will allow chemicals to cover the udder of an animal. If the udder is sprayed with insecticides or disinfectants, the likelihood of residuals contaminating the milk produced is increased. Also it requires labor to gather the animals and lead them to pass through these devices.
What is needed is a device which 1) is highly effective for treating ectoparasites on animals; 2) can fulfill the above functions in a voluntary manner without herding the animals to reduce the cost; 3) is easy for producers and breeders to use and requires little maintenance; 4) is easy for animals to walk through during normal outdoor activity; 5) easy to install and to move from one paddock or pasture to another.
The present invention substantially reduces or overcomes all of the above problems associated with the prior art. The invention is a low maintenance, electrically controlled automatic spraying device for delivering measured dosages of ectoparasiticides at a continuous and consistent dosage rate for the treatment of ectoparasites.
The invention may be employed wherever and whenever it is desired to treat a large group of animals and to prevent the increase number of new flies. For example, the invention may be used with a herd of livestock, a new group of animals being entered into an animal shelter, or pasture. The device is modular and portable and may be transported to any necessary location.
The automatic spraying device and method of treatment comprises at least one component for spraying solution for controlling ectoparasites. One possible embodiment comprises four-sided rail system defining an enclosure with an opening. Mounted on one rail side by the opening is a sensor and a nozzle for spraying the animal as it walks through the opening of the enclosure. The enclosure rest on the ground and can be placed anywhere in the pasture.
The preferred embodiment would be any type of fencing corral that has an opening in which the animals may enter. The subject invention can be used in conjunction with another invention of this inventor. A t-post style fence as commonly found on large farms may be adapted with a t-post bracket that can hold the sensor at any level the user desire. Therefore, the user does not necessarily have to built a separate enclosure from rails in order to practice this invention.
The animals are attracted to enter the enclosure by bait of food or water or any other suitable bait. At the opening of the enclosure is an infrared sensor. As an animal steps into the opening of the enclosure, the animal passes through the sensor to trigger spraying of the fluid. When the animal clears the opening, the liquid delivery system is automatically turned off. The automatic spraying device is adapted with a duration timer so the fluid is delivered to the nozzle for a certain period of time after the sensor is activated. The entire device can be wired with a presetable timer that can turn on/off the entire device for preset time periods.
The treatment solution is delivered to the nozzle by an application device having a pump and battery to provide the necessary power to the pump. The animal is exposed to the treatment solution every time the animal walks through the treatment nozzle of the automatic sprayer by entering or exiting the enclosure. The type of ectoparasiticides may be rotated at any time by the user and therefore minimize the risk of resistance development to the ectoparasiticides by ectoparasites. All voltages on the sprayer are twelve volts, which eliminates exposure of the animals to potential lethal voltages. The application device increases the efficacy and cost effectiveness of the treatment solution. A solar panel may be used to constantly recharge the battery to give continuous power.
The nozzle could be mounted in different positions to target bitting sites of different ectoparasite species. For example, stable flies bite on the feet, thus the nozzle would be mounted to aim at the feet of the animal.
In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle is mounted at a specific angle for spraying the body and legs of the animal. As an animal walks through the entrance the body is sprayed from the head to the end of the back. When treating dairy cattle, the nozzles are directed and pressurized so that little, if any, spray reaches the udder. When treating horses, it is known that the sound of the application device startles the horse. Therefore a solenoid valve may be connected to the application device to have the treatment solution ready to spray prior to the horse walking past the sensor. Thus, the pumping sound is not made and the horse is not scared to walk past the sensor and into the enclosure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sprayer for treating animals against ectoparasites.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sprayer that will have increased efficacy in the treatment of ectoparasites over traditional manual spraying.
It is also an object of the present invention to greatly increase the effectiveness of the insecticide by frequent spraying on a daily basis.
It is also an object of the present invention to greatly decrease the number of ectoparasites per animal by continuously spraying with a treatment solution.
It is also an object of the present invention to greatly reduce the cost of previous known manual spraying because using a lower dosage and the ability to set presetable timer.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sprayer that will deliver treatment solution in small dosages to each animal as it passes through the automatic sprayer and also to control the amount of the dosage over time through a timer.
It is also an object of the present invention to assure that each animal is exposed to continuous dosage of the treatment solution every time the animal walks through the automatic sprayer.
It is also an object of the present invention to assure that the animals that are slowed due to discomfort and weakness from high numbers of ectoparasites infestations will receive the full, correct and proper dosage of treatment solution regardless of their condition.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an automatic sprayer that eliminates the high level of management required for traditional treatment.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device that is both modular and portable for providing ease of placement at different locations for use in the field.
It is also an object of the present invention to rotate the type of ectoparasiticides and therefore minimize the risk of resistance development to by ectoparasites.
It is an advantage of this invention to provide a device that automatically treats animals in a voluntary manner, thereby significantly increasing efficacy of the treatment solution and reducing required time and costs of the farmer.
It is an additional advantage of this invention to provide a device for automatically delivering the correct and daily treatment solution dosage to each animal, each time the animal passes through the opening where the automatic sprayer is mounted.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given below. It should be understood, however, that this detailed description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, is given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.